When Everything Is Broken
by juujin-bunshin
Summary: HopeXNoel. Set after the canon ending. Everything is broken and they need to fix it...somehow.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is set after the canon ending. I didn't actually start shipping them until that scene, but at some point during that final sequence it hit me like a ton of bricks.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy. The characters are not mine. I am just playing with them.

Noel woke up to Hope kneeling next to him with a painfully worried look on his face. He saw a brief look of relief wash over his features before the worry took over once again.

"Noel, I'm glad you're finally awake. How do you feel?"

"Fine, thanks." That was a lie, but what else could he say?

"Are you sure? I checked for broken bones while you were out and everything seemed fine, but that doesn't mean you're actually fine at all."

"Yes, I really am fine," Noel shook his head to try to clear the cobwebs as Hope helped him to his feet. "I think I just need- "

A sudden need to vomit cut Noel off. He doubled over to retch although it was mostly just bile. Hope's hand on his back was a small comfort.

"Yeah, I did that, too. We need to be careful."

Between coughing and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand Noel managed to ask Hope where they were.

Hope answered with a short, hollow laugh.

"I was hoping you knew."

Noel stood up straight and looked around. The sky was nothing more than a dark, blurry canvas and the landscape wasn't much better.

"Well, we're either in a part of Valhalla I've never seen before or in the Void Beyond. Those would be my best guesses anyway."

"I thought as much." Hope kicked up some dirt with the toe of his boot. "I think the only thing to do is to pick a direction and start walking then. Any preferences?"

"No. They all look equally bleak to me."

"That's helpful." Hope took a step towards Noel and brushed past him on his newfound way.

"Hope!" Noel didn't move but shouted after him as he kept walking. "Hope! What are you doing?"

"Walking." Hope called back. "What does it look like?"

And since he didn't stop, Noel was forced to chase after him.

"That's not what I mean," Noel said as he grabbed Hope's arm and spun him around to face him. His eyes looked like he was about to cry but the rest of his face was pinched with anger.

"Then what do you mean?" Hope snapped.

"What about what just happened? Serah...the goddess... Aren't we going to talk about or at the very least acknowledge it?"

"No."

"No?"

"No. I can't..." Hope covered his eyes for a second and took a breath. "Please, Noel. Let's just face it later. For now let's just keep doing what we can - which right now is pretty limited to walking. Please."

Noel froze for a moment.

"Okay." He dropped Hope's arm and backed away. Hope looked relieved.

"Thank you."

Noel watched Hope's back for a few moments before starting after him, keeping a few paces behind. Hope was right. If Noel let himself stop to really think about what happened the weight of it would crush him before he could take another step.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Sorry this is probably going to come out in such tiny pieces. I do have a plan though!

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy. The characters are not mine. I am just playing with them.

* * *

They had been walking for what felt like ages, but it was probably no more than a few hours. The sky hadn't changed. It was still the same dusty shade of gray without so much as a cloud travelling across it to mark the passage of time. There was no change in the surroundings on the ground either. The ache in their legs was the only thing telling them they'd gone anywhere at all.

Noel had wandered ahead, but stopped when he heard Hope's footsteps begin to drag behind him.

"Want to take a break?"

"No, that's not necessary," Hope waved his hand, trying to brush off Noel's concern. "Please don't stop. I'm fine."

Noel put his hands on his hips and waited for Hope to catch up, but he couldn't just ignore his slumped shoulders and flushed face.

"You may be fine, but you'll be better if we rest a bit. Come on."

Noel sat down and was surprised at just how quickly Hope joined him.

"See? Is this really so bad?"

Hope covered his face and groaned, falling back to a supine position. "Ugh, yes it is."

"Why is that?"

"I don't want to hold you back." Hope sighed. "I was always holding them back, did you know that? They might have tried to deny it, but I knew they coddled me." Hope paused for a few moments, perhaps giving Noel a change to interrupt, but when Noel didn't he continued. "I thought I could finally pay them back, show them I was worth keeping around - worth saving, you know? I wanted to protect them and Cocoon, but look at this." Hope picked up a handful of dirt and let it slip through his fingers. "Not only that, but I still can't even keep up with a brisk walk."

Noel couldn't suppress a small laugh.

"It's true you may need to work on your endurance, but this," Noel frowned as he took a handful of dirt and threw it at his feet, "This is my fault. I'm the one who killed the goddess. Me." Noel clenched his fist so hard he was sure to draw blood. "I set out to save the future, but instead I destroyed it."

Hope sat back up, taking Noel's hand and gently prying open his fist.

"Don't, Noel."

"Why not? The timeline's been thrown into chaos and Serah...I couldn't protect her. She should still be here, not me."

"Stop it, Noel. Even if you feel that way punishing yourself isn't going to change anything. All you can do is keep living and try to make things right." Hope smiled at Noel, but tears were forming in the corners of his eyes. "A friend taught me that. A particularly stubborn and very often irritating friend, but every once in a while he got some things right."

"But how do we make this right?" Noel asked, hoping he could get away with blaming the tears forming in his own eyes on the pain in his hand.

"I don't know," Hope said as he let his head fall onto Noel's shoulder. Noel was startled by the sudden additional contact. He wanted to wrap his arms around Hope and pull him close, to comfort himself just as much as Hope, but he wasn't entirely sure if the gesture would be welcome. He was spared making the decision when Hope suddenly shot back up.

"Hey, Noel."

"Yeah?"

"Before she died Serah saw a vision, right?"

"Yes."

"And seeresses see visions of the future, right?"

Noel nodded, starting to see where Hope was going.

"So that must mean there was a future to see, right?"

"Yes!" A smile spread across Noel's face and he couldn't stop himself from taking Hope by the shoulders and giving him a few shakes in excitement. When he released him he could see that Hope was smiling, too.

"At the very least it's possible explination and right now I'll take it."

Hope stood up and quickly brushed himself off before offering his hand to Noel.

"Ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

Noel took his hand.


	3. Chapter 3

To keep their minds off the discouragingly unchanging landscape, they started telling each other stories. Hope was fascinated by the legends and history lessons from Noel's time, and Noel enjoyed hearing about Hope's time with Lightning and everyone and the years he spent afterwards at the Academy. They were so full of people and life that Noel found it hard to imagine, but he didn't miss the hint of sadness in Hope's voice either. All those people and all they'd dreamed of and worked towards were gone now. Noel could relate to that part of it in ways in he didn't want to admit.

Hope had just finished telling Noel about the first time he was allowed to walk to school by himself and how his mother had secretly followed him, trying to hide behind trees and everything, and was clearly a little embarrassed. Noel couldn't help but laugh a little.

"What's the matter, Hope? I think that's sweet."

"It was, it's just...Well, for one thing, you could see the school from our house so she didn't actually have to follow twenty paces behind to make sure I got there, but mostly," Hope dropped his voice and his gaze before continuing, "even after all this time I still miss her doing things like that."

Noel suddenly felt bad for laughing. He walked over and stood next to Hope, placing a hand gently on his shoulder. "That's nothing to be embarassed about it. I sometimes still wish I had my grandmother around for things like that. Whenever I had gotten hurt on a hunt Caius would just point out how weak I was and how bandaging me up was just slowing him down. I'd start to lose faith in myself until I made it back to the village and my grandmother would fuss over me and say things like 'If you weren't so brave I wouldn't have to worry about you so much'. I could she was proud of me and that would give me strength to keep trying."

Hope turned to face Noel and crossed his arms but did not remove Noel's hand. He still looked embarrassed. "Yeah but, you were fighting monsters. I was walking down the street."

"Maybe," Noel shrugged. "But you've fought plenty of monsters since then."

"I guess so."

Noel sighed, "But that's not really the point is it?"

Once again Hope averted his eyes.

"No."

Though neither of them said it, Noel knew that point was that they had had someone who cared about them. It didn't matter what the fussing was about or how silly it may have seemed. What mattered was that there had been someone who thought they were worth fussing over. A support system. Noel unconciously began to rub small circles with his thumb against Hope's collarbone.

"Noel..."

Noel froze and they seemed stuck in that moment until suddenly Hope's eyes got wide and distant.

"Hope, no!" Noel grabbed by both shoulders now and shook him. He'd seen that look on people's faces before. "Don't see it!"

But it was too late. Hope cried out before throwing his head back and collapsing into Noel's arms. He held him until he regained his composure and was still reluctant to let go even when Hope insisted he could stand on his own.

"I can't believe this. Not you, too."

Noel was panicking, pacing back and forth with one hand on his hip and the other on his forehead. And he would have kept pacing had Hope not reached out and grabbed him by the arm.

"It's okay, Noel."

"How is this possibly okay?" Noel was angry, but Hope almost seemed happy. Then he realized he'd asked the wrong question. "What did you see?"

Hope was practically beaming.

"Light. I saw Lightning."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Just putting another one of these here to be on the safe side. I do not own FF or these characters. Just playing.

* * *

Noel actually had to tell Hope to slow down after that. When he finally convinced him to take a break they were both a bit winded. Noel sat down, leaning back on his arms, and stared up at Hope, who was still standing and bouncing back and forth like a chocobo at the starting gate.

"Noel," Hope stopped and turned to face Noel. "You're staring."

"Yeah, um," Noel pretended to cough a few times as though that would make things less awkward. "I uh, I just don't think I've seen you this energentic before."

Hope laughed somewhat clumsily. "I guess I'm just excited for the chance to see Light again."

"Yeah," Noel understood. He had wanted to ask Hope why he was apparently completely fine with the fact that he had just become a walking time bomb, but stopped himself. It had been the same with Serah and Yuel. They were all fine with it if it was for the greater good. But Noel was not fine with it. He was sick of this routine. But yelling at Hope about it wasn't going to make it any better. He didn't change the subject. "She really meant a lot to you, huh?

Hope got a wistful look in his eyes before responding. "Yeah."

Noel raised an eyebrow.

Hope dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "No, no. Not like that. She was amazing. She saved me. Without her I would have given up or been killed so many times over. I followed her because I wanted to be like her. I wanted to be that strong. She taught me so much... and then she just disappeared."

Hoped sighed and sat down next to Noel. He took out his boomerang and started playing with it, expanding and collapsing it absentmindedly.

"Is she the one who taught you how to use that?"

"What, this?" Hope held out his weapon.

"Yeah."

"No," Hope held the boomerang close again and started tracing the scratches with his finger. "My parents did. Well, mostly my mom. They got it for me for my birthday and my dad was supposed to show me how to use it - so we could bond you know - but he always said he didn't have time so my mom taught herself how and then showed me. And it wasn't originally supposed to be for fighting either." Hope set it down and started undoing the buckles on his boots. "You were just supposed to do tricks with it, like send it through hoops and knock over bottles and stuff." He finished pulling his boots and socks off and stood up, tucking the socks in the boots and the boots and boomerang under his arm. "I'll show you."

Hope walked about a hundred paces out and set up the boots about twenty paces from each other. He walked back to Noel and threw his boomerang, knocking down the footwear and catching it again in one fluid, well-practiced motion. He seemed to caress it for a moment before holding it out to Noel.

"Would you like to try?"

"Sure."

Noel took it tentatively from Hope and watched as Hope went to set the boots back up. He returned and instructed Noel on how to stand and hold it, taking him by the hips to adjust his stance and placing his fingers just where they belonged.

"Okay, now bring your arm back like this, swing, and release!" Hope went through the motions several times while Noel watched. "Okay, your turn. Give it a try."

Noel tried it, and it sailed at full speed into the dirt not even halfway to the boots.

"That didn't work."

"Hmm," Hope crossed his arms. "Try it again and let me watch you."

"All right." Noel ran to retrieve it and tried again. This time it swept past the boots but made no effort to return.

"I think I see the problem. You're just throwing it and stopping. You need to guide it with your arms. Watch me again."

Hope ran to get the boomerang and threw it again. He waved his arms to the right, left, and back again as Noel watched the boomerang mimic those actions. Noel didn't quite understand how it worked but he'd give it a shot.

"Are you sure you aren't using strings?"

"I'm sure. No strings." Hope handed the boomerang back to Noel.

Noel tried again only to get the same results. It did change directions once, but since he couldn't get it to happen again it just made it all the more frustrating. Hope kept suggesting he make his arm movements larger or faster until he was all but flailing mindlessly. Hope finally broke down laughing. Noel put his hands on his hips and glared at him until he composed himself.

"I'm really sorry, Noel, but that's never going to work."

"Why not? I know I can do this."

"Not without these you can't." Hope held up his hands and wiggled his fingers.

"Your hands aren't that spe... Ohh you rotten little..."

Hope just grinned and started laughing all over again.

"Give me those gloves." Noel grabbed Hope's wrists and wrestled the gloves off of him. Hope struggled half-heartedly but if he was out of breath it by the end it was only from laugh so much.

The gloves were a little snug on him but it was the sensors that mattered, not the fit. Noel managed to make the boomerang return and even caught it more times than he got hit with it. Unfortunately knocking over a boot without running the weapon into the ground still proved beyond him. He finally called it quits for the time being and gave the boomerang back to its rightful owner.

"I will get you back for this."

"I'd like to see you try."

They shared a smile for a moment before the silence and nothingness around them seemed to come rushing back in, reminding them of their situation and making it suddenly too difficult to hold that expression any longer.

"I'll get your boots."

"Thanks."

* * *

A/N: No idea if that's how his boomerang actually works or if its magical abilities were ever explained. Pls just roll with this for now.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Sorry for the long delay! Let's get this ball rolling again.

* * *

Noel was bent down, fixing his boot, when he heard Hope shout.

"Noel, I think I see something!"

Noel sprang to his feet without even finishing the knot he was working on and rushed to Hope's side.

"Where?"

"Right, there." Hope held out his arm, pointing somewhere off to the left. Noel didn't see anything of interest at first so he leaned in to make sure he was looking in exacly the right direction. Hope was getting impatient. "Do you see it yet?"

Noel squinted, trying to force whatever it was he was supposed to be looking at into focus, and then suddenly he saw it. Or at least he thought he did. It was just the tiniest of smudges on the desolate landscape, but it was something. He quickly reached down to finish tying his boot and stood back up, unable to hide his eagerness.

"Let's go."

They ran towards their discovery at full speed, encouraged by its growing size. Noel arrived first but only had to wait a few seconds for Hope to catch up. What stood before them looked a lot like a waystone. They were both figdeting with excitement at finally finding a real ray of hope and trying, but failing, to keep calm exteriors. Noel spoke first.

"Can you think of any good reason why we shouldn't try to use it?"

"Nope."

Hope reached out to touch it and had barely grazed it before shimmering and disappearing. Noel didn't waste any time following suit, and soon found himself standing on a beach next to Hope, looking up towards a towering city. Noel had been here before.

"I'm still not sure where we were before, but this is definitely Valhalla."

Hope kept scouring the landscape like he was determined to make up him mind about something. Once he had that look of determination only intensified.

"This is where I saw Lightning."

"Things just keep getting better. She had answers the last time I was here. Let's go."

Noel started making his way towards the city center but was taken aback when Hope didn't follow. Noel turned around and did not like the disorientated look he saw on Hope's face. He grabbed Hope's arm, afraid he was having another vision, but Hope shook his head, dismissing the concern in Noel's eyes.

"I'm fine, thank you. But something's not right. Listen. I can't hear anything besides our voices, and look at the waves, Noel."

Noel stood still for a moment and looked over Hope's shoulder at the sea behind him. The waves weren't moving. And when he looked up, neither were the clouds. Noel knelt down to splash the water, but while it felt like water, it moved like clay, shaping itself in response to Noel's movements and staying there. "I don't believe this."

"I know time flows differently in Valhalla, but..." Noel watched as Hope picked up a nearby rock and droped it over the motionless waves, but instead of seeing it splash into the water, Noel just watched as it remained suspended in air right where Hope released it. "I don't think it's flowing at all."

Noel closed his eyes and took a deep breath to steady himself.

"The chaos that was unleashed when I killed the goddess must have reached Valhalla and caused it to become frozen in time." Noel stood back up and was about to brush the sand off his pants, only to create an impressive, somewhat soggy dust cloud. Of course. "Do you think it was like this wherever we were before?"

"There was less to go by there so it's hard to say. Maybe. But maybe not. Either way something was up. And while our hearts never stopped beating and we still got tired... I'm sure you've noticed that we haven't needed food or water for what seems like days now. It's like we're stuck in some sort of in-between state."

"Yeah. I was kind of hoping that if I didn't mention it I wouldn't have to worry about it."

Hope couldn't hold back the tiniest hint of smile. "Things rarely work out that way."

In response Noel gave Hope a small shove. "It helped get us this far didn't it?"

"I...I'm not sure 'helped' is the right word."

"Then what is?"

"Just give me a second."

"On this beach I can give you all the seconds you need."

"Noel..."

Hope's face told Noel that he had said the wrong thing. He couldn't help feeling like he should be the sensitive one in this situation, but he still felt bad and just wanted to move on as quickly as possible.

"All right. Come on then. Enough playing on the beach. Let's go find some more answers."

"You mean 'Let's go find Lightning'."

"Same thing, right?"

Hope nodded and they made their way off the beach side by side.


	6. Chapter 6

Noel and Hope didn't have to search long before they found Lightning. They entered the throne room to find her sitting, tall and unmoving.

"No!" Hope shouted as he backed away from Lightning's crystallized form shaking his head. "It isn't supposed to be like this."

Hope looked like he was trying to fight the urge to run away. Noel didn't think he'd seen him look this lost the entire time he'd known him. And considering what they'd been through that was saying a lot.

Noel grabbed him by the shoulders and tried to make eye contact with him. "Relax, Hope. In your vision she was human, right?"

"Yes, but..." Hope was beginning to breath a little too rapidly.

"Visions are images of the future so this just means she hasn't woken up yet. Don't freak out on me."

"Visions were images of the future. But what about now that time has been thrown into chaos? What if it already happened? Or is never going to happen? Or is happening right now in some sort of paradox timeline?"

Noel was caught off guard. Hope has been so calm and collected up to this point, and now all the sudden this turn of events had him on the edge of a breakdown. His eyes were searching Noel's face for answers, but Noel didn't really have any. He did the only thing he could think of. He wrapped his arms around Hope and pulled him close.

"I don't know, Hope. But I do know that we're still here, and as long as that's true there's still a chance we can fix this. There's still hope."

Hope didn't return the hug at first, but he let his head rest on Noel's shoulders and his breathing began to slow. They stood like that for a long time before Hope tentatively placed his arms around Noel and gave him a quick squeeze before whispering "Thank you" and letting go, quickly stepping back and breaking the embrace. "Should we see what we can find then?"

"Yes." Noel breathed a sigh of relief. He was grateful Hope had come back to him and bounce back so quickly, and as they searched the room he found himself sticking closer to him than usual. He told himself it was just because he was worried and not at all because he was feeling the loss of contact.

He was relieved of having to try to convince himself of that when he found an inscription on the base of the throne.

"I think there's something written here."

"Read it."

_"'A time will come when time won't come_

_And you will have to force it._

_Clean the gears and set the hands_

_And I will wake to wind it.'_

What do you think that means?"

"I think it means we have work to do if we want to wake Lightning."

* * *

A/N: The next update won't be so quick but it will be larger. Thanks for reading and your patience!


	7. Chapter 7

"So we just have to clean up time? That sounds easy."

Hope ignored Noel's sarcasm.

"That does seem like the general idea, but..."

"...how?"

Hope knelt down and ran his fingers across the inscription.

"I wish I knew."

Noel felt the same way. Unfortunately the answer was probably not just going to come to them that easily.

"Want to just walk around until we find another clue?"

"Why not?" Hope shrugged and got back on his feet. "That seems to have worked out for us so far."

They searched the area around the throne room in silence, each of them lost in his own thoughts, wondering what they would find and what it would bring next, and trying not to think about what it would mean if they never found whatever it was they were looking for. That thought was probably the most frightening of all, so the sight that greeted them when they entered the courtyard brought just as much relief as trepidation.

The courtyard was a circular space filled with dead plants and broken statues. But what caught their eyes was a large mosaic in the center shaped like a large clock with a wedge missing where the ten and eleven hours should have been. It looked like the ground there had just collapsed, leaving a hole with no bottom in sight. There were gates at each of the remaining hours and an artefact sitting in the middle. They were both frozen for a moment as they took it all in before they ran towards the structure. Noel went for the artefact and Hope ran to the gates, inspecting the engravings beneath each of them. He stopped at the five o'clock gate.

"This is when it happened. This gate leads to the year Cocoon fell. This is my time. Well, originally anyway."

Guessing what was going on, Noel walked to the last gate. "And this is my time." Noel peered into the chasm next to him. "The end of the line."

Hope walked over and stood next to Noel. Noel barely succeeded keeping the trembling out of his voice when he spoke.

"Do you think...do you think this means we can't stop it? That the end is coming no matter what and all I did by trying to save to future was to destroy the past as well?"

Hope crossed his arms and took his time before answering, so Noel knew his answer would be honest. No matter what Hope would have to say he appreciated this far more than baseless encouragement and meaningless reassurance.

"I don't think so, Noel. Even if the world is doomed, I don't think it's supposed to end here. Let's go with the theory that time is just an endless loop that repeats itself - as the clock formation would suggest. If we look at it that way," Hope walked around the circle to demonstrate his point, stopping in front of the missing section. "then it becomes obvious when you look at this particular arrangement that part of it is missing. Something must have happened to break the cycle and the goddess sent you back to fix it. Maybe it just means postponing the end a little longer, but it would also complete the loop, allowing things to begin again."

It took a few seconds for Noel to run the theory through his head a few times before he could accept it, but when he did he felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. If what Hope just said was true then he really could fix that past and still change the future. In that moment he was more determined than ever.

"You're a genius, Hope! This means we can still fix things. Everything even. But how did you get all of that by just looking at this?"

"I didn't become the director of the Academy by skipping classes," Hope said with a smirk.

"Point taken. Just don't let it go to your head," Noel said as he ruffled Hope's hair.

"Hey! You're not supposed to do that to your elders."

Hope's objection was less than half-hearted, but it still reminded Noel that Hope was older than him. Hundreds of years older by some counting methods. They didn't belong here at the same time. If they did manage to fix things it would most likely mean they'd never see each other again, or possibly ever have even met in the first place.

Noel pushed the thought out of his mind and stepped back, this was no time to be thinking about such things. He quickly took the artefact out of the pocket he had stuffed it in and waved it around.

"So let's use this, huh?"

"Yeah, no time like the present...whatever that currently means."

The wistful way Hope spoke made Noel wonder if he had been thinking the same thing.

"Which gate do you think this opens?"

"I'm guessing the first one." Hope adjusted his tie and made his way over to twelve o'clock.

Noel joined him at the top of the clock and they activated the gate.


	8. Chapter 8

They found themselves in a place reminiscent of Vile Peaks, but there were no traces of human activity to be seen. Time had stopped there as well, but the chaos that had invaded the space was more obvious here than it was in Valhalla. There were faceless monsters, some pitch black and others so white the light radiating off them was almost blinding, and visible cracks in the air that seemed to be windows to other time periods with snake-like creatures writhing inside of them, snapping at them as they walked past. Hope threw his boomerang at one group, beheading them all in one swift movement. As they shriveled up the crack closed.

"Well that was effective. I'd say it looks like we have some hunting to do," Noel said as he pointed his sword at a group of creatures gathering in front of them.

Hope readied his boomerang. "Right."

It was messy work but the monsters were no match for their combined efforts. They had just finished clearing the area when they felt the ground shake. They turned around to find a giant beast that looked as though it was the conglomeration of all the monsters they had just defeated.

"Looks like their boss showed up!"

"Why is there always a boss?"

"Now's not the time to complain, Hope."

It was a challenge, but as the monster faded away, leaving an artefact in its place, and there was a change in the air. A breeze picked up and they could hear running water in the distance.

"Ha! We did it! Time is flowing again! We're doing it, Hope!" This was real progress and Noel couldn't stop grinning. That was until he turned to see Hope with an all too familiar look in his eyes.

"No, not now."

He ran over and managed to catch Hope before he hit the ground. His eyes were closed and he was too still for Noel's liking. It was all he could do not to shake him as hard as he could.

"Hope! Are you still with me? Please still be here."

Hope slowly opened his eyes. "It's okay. I'm here."

"What did you see?"

Hope opened his mouth to answer but closed it again before saying anything.

"What did you see, Hope?" Worry made Noel's voice harsher than he intended.

"I - I'm not sure. I need to talk to Lightning. I think she'll be able to make sense of it."

"Then we'd better hurry and wake her up."

Noel helped Hope to his feet and they made their way back to the gate. Noel let Hope go ahead and watched his back as he made his way up the path. He wasn't entirely convinced that Hope needed to talk to Lightning to understand what he saw. He was hiding something from him. He was sure there was some reason he didn't want to share, but that didn't mean Noel had to like it. Hopefully he'd decide to share when the time was right. Noel just hoped that time wouldn't be too late.


	9. Chapter 9

They went on to defeat the chaos in an overgrown Sunleth Waterscape and in the Bresha Ruins before they were ruins without any major disasters or new visions. The biggest challenge in the Bresha ruins was the frozen people. It was terribly eerie and sometimes tricky to fight around them, but luckily the monsters were relatively weak.

When they reached the ancient Archylte Steppe, however, things got a lot harder. The monsters there had always been strong, and the ones born of chaos were no different. They cleaned up the village first, hoping to get the tough job over with first, but the monsters on the plain were so strong that the plan backfired. They were on their last legs by the time the boss showed up, bringing with it the annoying ability to move incredibly quickly and shoot stingers that, judging by the green ooze dripping from them, were poisonous. They had been able to avoid its attacks so far, but they could not land a good hit. They were out of breath and would be out of energy soon. They needed to finish it at once.

"Noel, I have an idea. Pay attention to it and don't miss your chance."

"Okay." Noel didn't know what Hope was planning or if he'd explain, but he focused his attention on the monster and didn't take his eyes off it. In his peripheral vision he could see Hope jumping up and down and waving his arms in the air.

"Hey! I'm the one you want! Over here!"

Noel wanted to yell at Hope and ask him what he was thinking when he saw his opening. It took him more swings than he'd like to admit, but he was able to hack through the distracted creature's thick skull and spill its brains in the grass. He retrieved the artefact before his adrenaline came down enough for him to realize he wasn't sure what had happened to Hope. He turned to see Hope coming towards him, clutching his shoulder and wincing every step of the way. There was one blood covered stinger on the ground behind him and another one still sticking out of his side. Noel felt another rush of adrenaline.

"What were you thinking?"

Hope caught Noel' eye and tried to grin, but he couldn't hide the pain he was in.

"You beat it, didn't you?"

Noel was starting to think that if he could still be that cocky then he must be all right when Hope passed out.

Noel didn't reach him before he hit the ground and he couldn't get him to wake up for more than a few seconds at a time. He quickly gave up on the idea that Hope would recover on his own and started carrying him back to the village as fast as he could. Time would be flowing again and surely the people in the village would be able to help. They would have antidotes or some way to help him. He just hoped they would. He was a stranger after all and they probably didn't even speak the same language. As he neared the village Noel figured that the more desperate he seemed the more likely they would be to help him. Luckily appearing desperate wouldn't be a problem. He picked up the pace and started yelling.

"Help! He's badly hurt. Please help us!"

Noel could only image what kind of scene he was making. Most of the villagers just stared at him as he charged through the center of town. Eventually a woman and a boy, who Noel guessed was her son, came out of one of the dwellings and flagged him down. The little boy ran out of meet them.

Noel was right about the language barrier. He couldn't understand a word the child said, but he followed him back inside nonetheless.

The building had two sections. One room appeared to serve as the village hospital and the boy and his mother seemed to live in the back. The woman pointed to the bed in the first room and Noel carefully set Hope down. The woman and the boy stripped Hope to his undergarments so they could inspect and clean all his wounds as Noel watched. The woman used some sort of device to draw the poison from the two stinger wounds, taking a lot of blood and pus with it. When she was satisfied with her work the boy retrieved a salve that she rubbed on the wounds before dressing them. As she did that the boy came over to Noel and started cleaning the cuts and scrapes he had received. Noel was taken aback by their kindness and knew right away that he could never repay them.

Hope has woken up towards the end of the process. He was disorientated and in pain. The woman gave Noel a cup of something and gestured for him to give it to Hope. Noel took the cup, guessing that in his current state it would probably be better for Hope to get it from someone he knew.

Noel sat on the bed and propped Hope's head up with one hand, holding the cup to his lips with the other.

"It's alright, Hope. Please drink this. You're all right now."

Hope searched Noel's face for more reassurance, and after Noel nodded he did as he was told, drinking the mixture and swiftly falling asleep. Noel set his head back down and got up.

Noel faced their two saviors and tried to figure out how to show his gratitide. He clasped the woman's hand in his and brought it to his lips, lightly kissing her fingers. He couldn't help saying "Thank you" out loud. Even if she couldn't understand it she would certainly feel the emotion behind it. She smiled and patted Noel on the cheek. Then she said something to her son and they left the room.

Noel assumed that meant they had been given permission to spend the night. He pulled a stool up to Hope's bed and sat down, watching Hope sleep.

He did seem to be getting better. His breathing was no longer distressingly shallow and he wasn't looking so deathly pale anymore. Noel brushed sweat soaked hair from his forehead. He was still hot, but he wasn't burning up like he was when Noel first carried him into town. Maybe he really was going to be okay.

Serah had told him a little bit about Hope after they'd first met him. She was upset by how lonely he sounded. At first Noel didn't understand. He was surrounded by people. He had Alyssa, and the entire Academy for that matter. Serah had to explain that just being surrounded by anybody doesn't count. He had lost his real family, both his parents died in the events leading up to and resulting from Cocoon's fall, and then all the members of his newfound family slowly slipped away from him one by one as well. Most of them taken away by forces beyond anyone's control.

Noel took Hope's hand and squeezed it tighter than he probably should have.

"I don't want to be alone anymore either."

The words were spoken before Noel realized he was even thinking them. They were true though.

It felt like Noel had just resolved to stay up a little longer to make sure Hope was really in the clear when he was woken up by the floor shifting beneath him - except it wasn't the floor at all. Somehow he slipped off the stool and had fallen asleep kneeling next the bed with his head resting on Hope's chest. His eyes popped open and he quickly placed himself back on the stool.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

Sometimes Noel could not get over how polite Hope could be.

"No - well, yes, but don't be sorry. How are you feeling?"

Hope may have been up and talking, but he still looked and sounded ragged.

"Alive. Thanks to you."

"Don't thank me. I just got you here. Thank the woman and her son who did all the real saving."

"I'll thank them too when I get a chance. I'm assuming 'here' is their place then?"

"Yeah."

Noel fidgeted with the edge of the blanket as the room filled with awkward silence.

"I'm glad - "

"What time is it?"

Instead of finishing his sentence Noel just looked around the room pretending to look for an answer even though he knew it wouldn't provide one. In the end he could only shrug.

"I think there are still a few hours before daylight. Don't push yourself. Get some more rest. I'm going to get some fresh air."

Noel began to get up when Hope grabbed his wrist.

"Wait."

"Is something wrong?"

"No. I just...," Hope averted his eyes before continuing,"Would you mind staying?"

"Not at all."

"Thank you."

Hope sat up and patted the space next to him on the bed, inviting Noel to have a seat. Noel took him up on the invitation and they sat together, talking about various things, like their lives before time travel, in hushed voices so they didn't wake their hosts. Soon, Noel found himself telling Hope more about his grandmother.

"She always said you could tell a lot about someone by the reading the lines on their palms."

"Really? Did she ever teach you how to do it?"

"A little bit. Here, give me your hand."

Noel grabbed Hope's hand and starting tracing the lines he recalled being important. Hope leaned in to see what he was doing until their foreheads touched.

"So what do they mean?"

Noel felt his cheeks get a little warm. He realized that he hadn't paid as much attention to his grandmother as he thought he had and felt more than a little silly.

"I don't actually remember."

"Oh."

They both laughed quietly but Noel didn't stop tracing patterns or let go of Hope's hand, and Hope didn't pull away.

They sat like that until Hope's head drooped on to Noel's shoulder and Noel knew he had fallen asleep again. He gently laid Hope down on his uninjured side and settled down next to him. Hope had asked him to stay, and he didn't really want to sleep on the floor, so he figured it would be all right. Then in a moment of boldness, he also took the liberty of lightly wrapping his arm around him, being careful to avoid his injuries, and burying his face in the nape of Hope's neck before he, too, fell asleep.

* * *

A/N: Yes I did make Hope a sentinel and that is pretty much what he did and it was awesome (not the getting part but the waving part). Thanks for reading! I'll try to have another update in a week.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Once again, I own nothing FF related.

* * *

When Noel woke up the next morning Hope was gone. He panicked and nearly fell out of the bed, until he stopped himself, wondering why he was panicking in the first place. People didn't just disappear, it was actually probably a good sign that he was up and about. And he probably just wanted to stretch, not get away from him or anything like that. He was surely getting worked up about nothing.

As if on cue, Hope walked back into the room. He tried to smile at Noel when he saw that he was awake, but Noel could tell something was bothering him.

"Good morning."

"How are you feeling?"

"Much better, thanks." Hope rolled his shoulder to try and demonstrate this point, but his clenched teeth said otherwise. "Okay, I guess I'm still a bit sore, but I'm still much better than I would have been if you hadn't found this place. I was lucky."

"We were both lucky."

There was an awkward pause before Hope changed the subject.

"Should we get ready to go then?"

Noel was caught off guard. He knew Hope was out of danger for the moment, but this was rushing it.

"Don't you think you should let yourself heal some more before we head out?"

"No. Our hostess gave me some more salve and bandages to use when I need it. I should be alright. Besides," Hope lowered his eyes and his voice, "I don't want to risk getting too comfortable somewhere I can't stay."

Noel felt his stomach sink. Something told him Hope wasn't just talking about the Archlyte Steppe. He remained seated. Hope looked at him, imploring him to do or say something.

"Are you coming?"

"No." Noel wanted to say more, but he wasn't sure what. Then it hit him. "You sound like Caius."

"Excuse me?"

"Just because you know something is going to be short lived it doesn't mean it isn't worth having at all."

Noel got up and not too gently poked Hope in the wound on his side. Hope grimaced and backed away, clutching his side and staring at Noel.

"You need more rest even if you won't admit it. We're staying here."

Noel stormed out of the room and kept going right out of town. He needed to clear his head. He was surprised he had gotten as upset as he did, but it was no use denying it. Things had escalated last night, but Hope was the one who asked him to stay in the first place, and now he was running away from it. It was confusing and frustrating - as if trying to save the world wasn't enough.

Noel found a small outcropping and sat down. He watched the clouds and the monsters roaming the fields and tried to remind himself to focus on the task at hand. He wasn't sure how long he'd been there when he heard footsteps behind him. He stood up and crossed his arms, but he didn't turn around. He knew who it was.

"Noel..."

"What is it, Hope?"

"I just...Could you look at me, please?"

Noel turned, but kept his arms crossed.

"I just wanted to say I was sorry. You were right."

The next thing Noel knew Hope was kissing him. He uncrossed his arms to pull him closer.


	11. Chapter 11

They spent the next several days in the Archylte Steppe. They learned that the woman who helped them was named Sontia and her son was called Brone. They also learned a lot about each other, like where all the other one's scars were and if they were ticklish or not. It was nice to push everything else aside for a while and just be, but like Hope had said, they couldn't stay there forever. All too soon they found themselves in Yassif Machas, pushing their personal feelings back down as best they could and getting back to business.

The chaos almost seemed weaker in Yassif Machas than it had been in Archylte Steppe. They didn't bother trying to figure out why, they were just grateful they were able to clean the area up without any further injuries. They hesitated before the gate, knowing what gate was waiting for them next.

"Are you ready for this, Hope?"

Hope looked distinctly undecided. "Ready is a terribly subjective word. Either way I don't think it matters if I am or not."

Hope activated the gate before Noel could protest.


	12. Chapter 12

When they returned to Valhalla Lightning was waiting for them. Hope shouted her name and ran towards her, almost tripping in his excitement. He threw his arms around her with such force it almost knocked her over. After Lightning caught her balance she slowly returned the embrace, softly stroking Hope's hair.

"It's all right, Hope."

Hope may have been a head taller than Lightning now, but as Noel watched, it was like Hope became a little boy again, clinging to Lightning for dear life. It was clear how much he had depended on and missed her. When Hope finally pulled away Noel could see that he had tears in his eyes.

Lightning reached up and wiped one of the tears away as it fell. "I'm proud of you, Hope. Don't get soft on me now." Her words were harsh, but her voice was full of warmth.

"Sorry." Hope straightened up.

"That's better." Lightning smiled. "Do you what you need to do?"

"I think so," Hope's eyes met Noel's for a second before he turned back to Lightning. "Noel needs to go through the next gate alone and pray to the goddess asking her not to spare us."

"Wait, what?" Noel moved towards Hope. So this was what he had been hiding.

Lightning stepped between them, stopping Noel in his tracks.

"That's right. When the goddess released us from crystal stasis she lost too much strength. Her weakness allowed paradoxes to happen and eventually allowed her to be killed. Thanks to the work you've done so far, she exists again in the timeline at full strength before that moment." Lightning pointed to the gate leading to Cocoon's fall. "You need to go there and ask her to leave us to our fate. She listened to you once before. Hopefully she'll listen to you again."

Noel was speechless.

"And Hope can't go with you because he already exists in that time and him being there twice would create too many paradoxes, making it too unstable and letting in too much chaos," Lightning added, clearly annoyed with Noel's perceived lack of understanding.

"I get that part, but, how am I supposed to get the goddess to hear to me? Just shout at the sky?"

"If that's what you did the first time, then sure."

"Even if she hears me, how can we guarantee that she listens?"

"Make sure you ask very nicely."

Lightning was glaring at him, but Noel was pretty sure he was the one who should be angry. This was not the solution he had in mind. Not only did it feel like he had just been given an impossible task, but he didn't like. Regardless of how he felt about it, the odds of it working did seem incredibly slim. Sure the goddess had answered his prayers before, but then he killed her. That wouldn't put them on the best terms, although fortunately this version of the goddess wouldn't know that. That still didn't mean this was going to work. He opened his mouth to protest again, but shut it without speaking.

"Good," Lightning nodded. "Now once you've completed your task, I'll do my part from here to get time flowing again. This should allow us to complete the circle and fix this mess."

"How will you know if I was successful?"

"Trust me, I'll know."

Noel frowned. Something about the way she said that didn't sit right. Now he really wasn't sure about this.

"Ready?" Lightning asked. She looked ready to push him into the gate.

"No!" Noel was not ready. He still didn't know what he was going to do, and he had a painful goodbye to make. He could understand why Lightning might be in such a hurry to get this done after waiting for who knows how long in Valhalla, but he needed a few minutes.

"Wait," Hope spoke up. "Light, can you give us a moment? I want to say goodbye first."

Lightning backed off.

"Sure."

She stood and waited.

"Um," Hoped wrung his hands together awkwardly, "I meant alone, please."

"Oh, right then." Lightning seemed to pick up on what was going on surprisingly quickly and left them alone.

Noel was pacing, busy trying to return his breathing to normal and get his thoughts in order when Hope stopped him.

"I know you'll do the right thing."

"Did you see it in a vision, too?"

"No," Hope admitted. "It's just a feeling."

"I like those better than visions anyway. Thanks."

Hope just nodded in response.

"And you're okay turning back to crystal?"

"I'm not excited about it, but it's not the end. Fang and Vanille work up once, right?"

"That's true."

"And even if it was the end I'd still do it if that's what it took."

"I know."

"I don't know what else to say."

"I don't think there's anything else to say. At least not with words."

Noel took Hope's hand and lead him behind a wall and kissed him like he'd never see him again - an expression he found took on a whole new meaning when it was no longer just an expression. As he undid Hope's belt and got him ready it was impossible not to think about how he'd never hear Hope's breath hitch like that again. He found himself going harder in an attempt to savor every moment and was afraid he'd hurt Hope, but Hope was doing the opposite of complaining. The harder Noel pushed him into the wall the tighter he clung to Noel. It was perfect in its desperation.

They composed themselves as best they could before going back to the gate. Lightning still hadn't returned, and they were grateful for that. They stood in front of the gate and stared at it. Hope was the first one to move. He kissed Noel one last time and handed him the artefact.

"Go."

Noel took the artefact and touched the gate. Then he was gone.

"He's gone," Hope yelled.

Lightning walked back into the garden and placed her hand on Hope's shoulder.

"You could have done a lot worse, you know. My sister did."

Hope couldn't help laughing. "You'll never stop giving him a hard time, will you?"

"No. Will you?"

"No."

They shared a smile before Lightning's face turned serious.

"Hope, I need you to listen to me and try to remember what I'm going to say. I don't know if you'll be able to, but you need to try."

"Of course. What is it?"

"I need you to focus on the future, Hope. Finish what we've started and save Cocoon. You can't bring her back, but you can save the rest of us."

"What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about, Hope. Don't pretend not to."

"But..."

Before Hope could finish his sentence his knees buckled and his eyes glazed over. Lightning caught him and cradled his head in her lap. Even though she had seen this coming, she still found herself crying.

"What did you see, Hope?"

He reached up to touch Lightning's face. She placed her hand over his.

Hope coughed and swallowed, struggling to speak. He finally managed to say three words.

"He did it."

Hope smiled one last time before his arm fell, slipping through Lightning's fingers.

She laid him down, closing his eyes and kissing his forehead.

"Thank you."

She stood and unsheathed her sword. She was ready to put an end to this.


	13. Chapter 13

It had only been a month since Yuel died, and Noel wasn't sure that he was ready for this. The village elders has decided that since it was unknown when the seeress would be reborn, Noel should go see the world and learn what he could until that time. They were sending him to the Academy while he was on what they called 'Guardian Leave'.

He took an overnight train and arrived just as the sun was rising over Academia. The Academy itself stuck out like a sore thumb. It was a nice looking thumb, but there was no doubt what it was and it was easy find his way there with it towering over all the other buildings. He figured the doors would still be locked, so he decided to wander around its massive gardens. He had heard that the crystal forms of the last L'Cie were kept in the center. He sought them out and was surprised to see someone else there. He was even more surprised when he recognized them.

He had never met him before, but everyone on the planet knew who he was. He had built it after all. The story was that he had turned to crystal along with his comrades - the ones Nole was looking at now - but unlike the rest of them, he woke up fifty odd years later. Some Academy students were doing research in the area and found him curled up next to the crystal form of a woman he said was named Lightning. He said he was waiting for the others to wake up because he was sure they would soon. Unfortunately, he was wrong.

They took him back to the Academy to study him. They ran all sorts of test and asked everyone question they could think of countless times over. In the end they determined that he was healthy and his mark was deactivated, or at least dormant. After they got all they wanted out of him they told him he could go home. They had forgotten that he didn't have one. Both his parents had died half a century ago and even if they hadn't they likely would have passed on by then anyway. And the passage of time made dropping him off on an extended family awkward as well. Who wants to adopt the fourteen year old great-great-second cousin they've never heard of? Hope solved the problem himself by asking to go to the Academy boarding school. They agreed to waive his tuition fees in exchange for having used him as a lab rat and called it a deal. He also asked them to change his name. He knew they'd publish their research and he didn't want to be recognized. So he started going by Light.

He grew up at the Academy and focused his research on the crystal pillar supporting Cocoon. People who didn't know his original name were always surprised by his devotion. With his level of resolve and determination it wasn't long before he worked his way to the top of the Academy. He soon figured out that the pillar wouldn't hold up forever and started projects focused on finding solutions. Eventually, all that research resulted in the construction of the planet humanity currently lives on now. And his dedication to the project spurred him to put himself in suspended animation several times so he could see it through to completion himself. He also lead a secret side project to retrieve two crystal forms from the pillar that now resided in the garden with the others the Academy took from Pulse. It wasn't until after this was done that he started going by his real name.

Noel was still trying to decide if he wanted to try and slip away undetected when the Director spotted him.

"Good morning. You must be Noel."

"How did you know?" Noel almost went for his sword, which he had smartly packed away, before remembering his manners. "I mean, good morning, Director Estheim."

"You don't have to be so formal. Please, call me Hope."

He held out his hand and Noel shook it, lingering for a moment before letting it go.

"And to answer your question, I know who you are because I always review the new student rosters. It's not often we get one from your village, and your clothes give you away."

Noel looked down at his own outfit as though he'd forgotten what he was wearing.

"Oh, yeah. That makes sense."

Noel racked his brain for something clever or interesting to say, but couldn't come up with anything. Hope saved him.

"It will still be some time before the registration desks open. I can give you a tour of the grounds in the meantime if you'd like. Then I can show you where they are."

"Sure, if it's not too much trouble."

"Not at all."

"Thank you."

At first Noel wasn't sure if making this high profile of an entrance was a good thing or not, but as Noel fell in step with the head of the Academy, he truly felt like he was in the right place at the right time.

THE END


End file.
